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CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER THOMAS L. KEMP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER LISA COHEN PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP ROBERT G. SULLIVAN CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER MATTHEW YORKE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER DAVID BLANSFIELD EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ARNIE WEISSMANN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES JANINE L. BAVOSO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION ROBERTA MULLER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, IT INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS RICH MASTROPIETRO VICE PRESIDENT, INFORMATION PRODUCTS GROUP SHEILA RICE VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS ELIZABETH KOESSER Published by NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD SINGAPORE 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652 • TEL: (65) 6801 0450 FAX: (65) 6801 0469 BEIJING Room 024, Building 8, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound, No.9 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 100600, China • TEL: (8610) 8532 3611 | FAX: (8610) 8532 5293 SHANGHAI Room 2553, The Headquarters Building, No.168 Central XiZhang Road, Shanghai 200001, China • TEL: (8621) 5179 8360 | FAX: (8621) 5179 8360 Head Office 100 LightingWay, Secaucus, N.J. 07094-3681 U.S.A. • TEL: ( 201) 902-2000 M&C/Asia ISSN 2424-8215 MCI (P) 051/09/2019 PPS 1871/11/2015 (025607) is published on a bi-monthly basis by Northstar Travel Media Singapore Pte Ltd, located at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652. All rights reserved. Please address all subscription mail to the above address. Alternatively, you can fax to +852 3020 5794 or go online at: www.meetings-conventions-asia.com/subscribe For reprints or copyright permission contact M&C Asia at +65 6801 0450 or email to reprint@ntmllc.com Printed by Times Printers Private Limited (L007/08/2019) A PUBLICATION OF NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER, ASIA Irene Chua Tel: (65) 6801 0451 | ichua@ntmllc.com EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Stanley Ho Tel: (65) 6801 0457 | stanley.ho@ntmllc.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE Ian Jarrett Tel: (618) 9433 6455 | ian.jarrett@travelweekly.com EDITOR Lee Xin Hui Tel: (65) 6801 0453 | xinhui.lee@ntmllc.com REPORTER Naomi Neoh Tel: (65) 6801 0461 | naomi.neoh@ntmllc.com CONTRIBUTORS Natalie Joy Lee, Catharine Nicol, Alex Palmer, Brooke Thio ART DIRECTOR Lim Bee Bee Tel: (65) 9750 8405 | bb.bbcreative@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING REGIONAL ASSISTANT SALES DIRECTOR Kevin Ng Tel: (65) 6801 0459 | kevin.ng@ntmllc.com REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Ng Whey Whey Tel: (65) 6801 0460 | whey.ng@ntmllc.com ASSOCIATE MANAGER, MARKETING AND EVENTS Melanie Ong Tel: (65) 6801 0458 | melanie.ong@ntmllc.com AD TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Rena Koh Tel: (65) 6801 0455 | rena.koh@ntmllc.com IT & DIGITAL DIGITAL & IT OPERATIONS Jake Mak Tel: (65) 6801 0464 | jake.mak@ntmllc.com CHINA OFFICE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR (Shanghai) Roger Wang Tel: (8621) 5179 8360 | roger.wang@ntmllc.com MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES HONG KONG/MACAU/TAIWAN ZAM International - Manna Ma Tel: (852) 9731 2090 | manna.ma@ntmllc.com INDIA MHI Communications - Smriti Khanna Tel: (9198) 1040 7483 | skhanna@mhi.com.hk JAPAN R Project Incorporated - Hiroki Fukunaga Tel: (81) 90 4958 0658 | hirokif@rprojectinc.com KOREA Young Media Inc - Keon Chang Tel: (822) 2273 4833 | ymedia@chol.com MIDDLE EAST The MediaVantage - Lenora Bennis Tel: (971) 52 846 6212 | lenora@themediavantage.com PHILIPPINES MMPRMedia Group, Inc - Marie Monozca Tel: (63) 917 328 7658 | marie@mmprmedia.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR - ASIA Patti Mo | patti.mo@ntmllc.com DATABASE & FULFILLMENT MANAGER Zoe Chu | zoe.chu@ntmllc.com FINANCE ASIA FINANCE MANAGER Julia Tham Tel: (65) 6801 0452 | julia.tham@ntmllc.com M&C Asia is BPA audited, with 10,100 print circulation and 11,458 eNewsletter circulation as of Jun 30, 2019. Around the world, BPA is the preferred third-party auditor for advertiser-supported business publications (including print and digital editions). BPA verifies paid, controlled, or any combination of paid and controlled circulation, and reports the data in a single Brand Report. Founded in 1931 BPA Worldwide is an independent, not-for-profit, self- regulating organization governed by a tripartite Board. Editor's Note 4 JAN-FEB 2020 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM I WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS. EMAIL ME AT STANLEY.HO@NTMLLC.COM Stanley Ho SENIOR EDITOR A dozen years ago, in November 2007, then Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo graced the cover of Forbes magazine with the headline proclaiming: Nokia – One Billion Customers. Can anyone catch the cell phone king? Well, 12 years on, we all know the answer. Once the undisputed world leader in mobile phones, the Finnish telecommunications rm has since fallen from grace in a huge way. Because of its dominance, Nokia was torpid to change and was slow to acknowledge the shift the telecommunications industry was making. That inertia saw Apple and Samsung render Nokia obsolete within a decade. The Forbes cover is interesting because it clearly shows this: No one is really too big to fail. History teaches us that no one is safe on the free market, and only the companies with the best solutions in their eld survive. And, to survive, companies have to transform. Which is what M&C Asia's rst issue of 2020 sets out to do in our cover story: Laying out the key challenges of the new decade before you, and seeking the views of MICE industry stakeholders on how to overcome them. Coursing through this issue, too, are various stories of innovation and forward-planning from destinations, venues and planners. Tales that we hope will inspire you as you take the leap forward in the new decade. Take the leap forward

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